Door check and closer.



J. C. REGAN.

DOOR CHECK AND CLOSER.

APPLICATION FILED IEB. a, 1911.

999,522. Patented Aug. 1,1911.

2 SHEETSSHEET 1.

WITNE ES /6 INVENTOR 1 W I fljd/n/ f7 Allorney COLUMBIA PLANOORAPH 50.,WASHINGTON D c J. G. REGAN.

DOOR CHECK AND CLOSER.

APPLIOATION FILED FEB.8,1911;

999,522. I Patented Aug. 1,1911.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

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JOSEPH CHARLES REGAN, OF STAMFORD, CONNECTICUT, ASSIGNOR TO THE YALE &TOWNE MANUFACTURING COMPANY, OF STAMFORD, CONNECTICUT.

DOOR CHECK AND CLOSER.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JOSEPH CHARLES REGAN, of Stamford, in the county ofFairfield and State of Connecticut, have invented certain new and usefulImprovements in Door Checks and Closers; and I do hereby declare thefollowing to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention,such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains tomake and use the same.

My invention relates to an improvement in door checks and closersadapted for use on rightand left hand doors, and known to the trade asreversible checks.

The objection to the reversible checks now in use, is, that when appliedto a door, the action of the closing spring in one direction may besatisfactory, while in the other direction, the friction is so great asto seriously interfere with the proper operation of the check, and theobject of this invention is to provide a check adapted for both rightand left hand doors, without changing or readjusting any of the parts,and which will be equally efiicient on both kinds of doors.

Afurther object is to provide a construction in which the spring and theparts that are connected thereto and cooperate therewith, may be readilyassembled on the outside and then placed in position within the casing.

With these and other objects in view my invention consists in the partsand combinations of parts as will be more fully explained and pointedout in the claims.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a View in plan, the cap beingremoved, and the ratchet sleeve shown in section. Fig. 2 is a view inlongitudinal vertical section. Fig. 3 is a view partly in sect-ion andpartly in elevation 011 the line a: w of Fig. 1. Fig. 4: is a view inplan and Fig. 5 is a view in section of the lower plate or winder, andFigs. 6 and 7 are similar views of the upper plate or winder.

1 represents the piston chamber or cylinder, and 2 the spring chamber.These chambers are cast integral and in open communication with eachother, the opening between the chambers being closed by the packing nut3 which serves as a bearing for the spindle 4. This spindle has a crank5 to which the piston 6 is connected by the rod.

7, and it passes up through the packing nut Specification of LettersPatent.

Patented Aug. 1, 1911.

Serial No. 607,402.

3, through spring chamber 2 and terminates in a plane above the top ofthe latter.

Mounted on the spindle 1 is the ratchet wheel 8, having an integraldepending sleeve 9, which latter passes downwardly through a centralopening in the top cap 10 and terminates just above the upper edge ofthe packing nut 3. This ratchet 8 is connected to the lever 11, whichlatter is secured on the angular upper end of the spindle 4, by the pawl12, and the sleeve 9 of the ratchet, is provided with an integral driver13, the up per edge of which is adapted to engage a vertical lug 14 onthe lower face of the top plate or winder 15, and the lower edge en-.

gages a lug 17 on the top face of the lower plate or winder 18, the lug14 hearing against one side of driver 13, so as to be moved by thelatter when the ratchet sleeve is rotated in one direction, and the lug17 on the lower plate or winder engaging the opposite side of saiddriver 13 so as to be moved when the latter is rotated in the oppositedirection. The lower plate or winder, is cup shaped as shown, andsurrounds the upper portion of the packing nut 3, and is provided on itslower edge at its periphery with a horizontally projecting lug 19, whichrests on one side of the stop 20 seated in a recess in the side wall ofthe cylinder 2, and projecting into the latter, and the top plate orwinder 15 is provided at its periphery with a horizontally projectinglug 21, which is also located to engage the stop 20. The lug 19 on thelower plate or winder 18 engages one side of the stop 20, while the lug21 on the upper plate or winder 15 engages the opposite side of saidstop, hence with both lugs 19 and 21 in engagement with the stop 20, oneplate or winder will be free to turn in one direction, and the otherfree to turn in the opposite direction.

The driver 13 rests in a plane between lugs 14 and 17 on plates 15 and18 respectively, hence when the ratchet sleeve 9 is turned in adirection to cause its driver 13 to engage lug 1 1 on the upper plate,it will carry lug 21 on the latter away from stop 20, and when thesleeve is turned in the opposite direction, its driver 13 by engagementwith lug 17 on the lower plate, will carry lug 19 on the latter awayfrom the said stop.

The lower plate or winder 18 is provided centrally in its top with anopening into which the lower end of the ratchet sleeve 9 projects, thelatter forming a bearing for the upper end of said plate. This lowerplate is also provided with ahole or recess 22 forthe reception of theinwardly bentlower end 23 of the coil spring 241, and the upper plate orwinder 15 is provided with a depending flange 25 having a similar holeor recess 26 for the reception of the inwardly bent upper end of coilspring 2 1. The ends of the springs are connected to said plates bytheir bent ends as above set forth and shown in the drawing as being aconvenient method, but the method of connection is not material andvarious other methods might be adopted. It will be noted that when theends of the spring are properly connected to the lower and upper platesthese plates and the ratchet sleeve and cover, or top cap 10 are, so tospeak, self contained and form an operative unit for the operation ofthe check.

From the foregoing it will be apparent, that when the parts areassembled, with the spring under a slight tension, the latter will holdthe lugs 19 and 21 of the two plates in contact with the stop atopposite sides of the latter,and when the lever arm 11 is moved in onedirection, one plate, say the lower one 18 will be held againstmovement, and the upper plate 15 rotated by the driver, thus winding upthe spring at its top, and when the lever arm is turned in the oppositedirection, the upper plate 15 will be held against movement and thelower plate 18 rotated by the driver 13, thus winding up the spring fromthe bottom, the tension of the spring operating in both instances, torestore the lever arm 11 to its normal or neutral position as soon as itis released.

The cap 10 is provided with a slot 26 and the top plate is provided witha slot 27 for the passage of the driver 13 on the ratchet sleeve.

In assembling the mechanism the cap 10 and top plate 15 are passed overthe inner end of the ratchet sleeve into the position shown in Fig. 2,and one bent end of the spring 24; is inserted in the hole 26 in topplate or winder 15; the lower plate or winder is then placed in positionover the j inner end of ratchet sleeve 9 and the lower bent end 23 ofspring 24 is inserted in hole 22 in lower plate or winder 18. The partsthus assembled are then passed into the upper chamber 2, and onto thespindle 1, and are held therein by the lever arm 11 which is secured inplace by a nut. By now rotating the ratchet sleeve in one direction, thespring will be wound up from one end and its other end held againstmovement,

and by reversing the direction of rotation of the ratchet sleeve, theend of the spring that was formerly restrained will be free to turn, andthe other end held against movement,

and when the ratchet sleeve is released, the spring which is undertension, will operate in the ordinary manner to rotate the spindle andclose the door, thus restoring the parts to their neutral position.

The ease with which the parts may be assembled not only reduces the costof manufacture but also renders it possible for a per son of ordinaryskill to readily take it apart and assemble it, in the event the changeor renewal of parts should be necessary.

It is evident that many slight changes might be resorted to in therelative arrangement of parts shown and described without departing fromthe spirit and scope of my invention. Hence I would have it understoodthat I do not wish to confine myself to the exact construction andarrangement of parts shown and described, but

Having fully described my invention what I claim as new and desire tosecure by LettersPatent, is

1. In a door closer, the combination with a casing, and a stop carriedby said casing, of a sleeve having a driver thereon, upper and lowerwinder plates, each having a lug to engage the driver and each having alug to engage the stop, and a spring connected to both plates, theconstruction being such that when the driver is engaging its ing on oneplate to wind up the spring from one end, the other plate will be heldagainst movement by the stop lug thereon engaging the stop on thecasing.

2. In a door closer the combination with a casing and a stop pro ectinginto the easing chamber, of a ratchet sleeve having a fixed driverthereon, top and bottom plates each having a lug to be engaged by thedriver, and each having a lug to engage the stop, and a coiled springinterposed between the plates and connected to bot-h.

3. In a door closer, the combination of a cover or cap, a ratchet sleevehaving a fixed driver thereon, two plates surrounding the sleeve, eachplate having a lug to be engaged by the driver, and a spring connectedat its opposite ends to the plates, so that said parts are selfcontained and together form the driving unit for the check.

4. In a door closer, the combination with a casing, top and bottomwinder plates each having a vertical lug and a horizontal lu I and aspring intermediate the plates and se- :cured to each, of a sleevehavlng a driver resting in a plane between the vertical lugs {andadapted to engage either, and a stop 2 on the casing resting in a planebetween the horizontal lugs and forming an abutment 1 for either.

5. In a door closer, the combination with a casing, a piston, a splndle,and a lever arm secured to the latter, of a sleeve secured on androtatable with the spindle and pro- .vided with a laterally projectingdriver, a

top plate having a vertical lug adapted to be engaged by the driver andalso a horizontal lug, a bottom plate having a vertical lug adapted tobe engaged by said driver and also a horizontal lug, a springintermediate the two plates and connected to both, and a stop on thecasing, the said stop being between the horizontal lugs on the platesand adapted to be engaged by either.

6. The combination With a casing, a stop projecting inwardly from theWall of. the casing, a spindle. a lever arm, and a sleeve embracing thespindle and having a laterally projecting driver, of a cap closing thetop of the casing and having an opening for the sleeve and its driver,top and bottom Winder plates the former having an opening for thepassage of the sleeve and its driver, each plate having vertical lugs toengage the driver and horizontal lugs to engage the stop on the casingand a coiled spring embracing the sleeve and secured at its ends to theWinder plates.

In testimony whereof, I have signed this specification in the presenceof two subscribing Witnesses.

JOSEPH CHARLES REGAN.

WVitnesses SGHUYLER MERRITT, C. M. CRozIER.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. C.

